Broiler and grill

ABSTRACT

An automatic broiler and grill has heat generating means for cooking and heating food products and heat exchanging means located to ensure uniform heating of the product, and to prevent overheating of the grill plate as food products are conveyed along the grill plate. A thermostatically controlled auxiliary heater is disposed beneath the grill plate to ensure thorough cooking of the food products. A sheet of non-sticking substance may be loosely hung on the grill plate to prevent the food products from sticking to the grill plate. A conveyor assembly is arranged to provide for the loading of a plurality of food products at one time as well as to convey the food products past and in contact with the grill plate. Heat reflecting means are provided to prevent heat loss upwardly and outwardly of the heat generating means.

United States Patent McGinley et a1. 14 1 Sept. 26, 1972.

[s41 BROILER AND GRILL 3,435,188 3/1969 Colard ..219/530 x 72 lnventors:William L. McGinley, 6142 Averill 35171605 6/1970 etal- C X/ w Dallas,7522 Johnnie 3,569,672 3/1971 Hurko ..219/464 Prine Pearson, Route 2,Box 147A, Terrill, Tex. 75160 Primary Examiner-Volodymyr Y. MayewskyAttorneyRobert D. Teichert and Donald J. Koprowski [5 7] ABSTRACT Anautomatic broiler and grill has heat generating means for cooking andheating food products and heat exchanging means located to ensureunifonn heating of the product, and to prevent overheating of the grillplate as food products are conveyed along the grill plate. Athermostatically controlled auxiliary heater is disposed beneath thegrill plate to ensure thorough cooking of the food products. A sheet ofnon-sticking substance may be loosely hung on the grill plate to preventthe food products from sticking to the grill plate. A conveyor assemblyis arranged to provide for the loading of a plurality of food productsat one time as well as to convey the food products past and in contactwith the grill plate. Heat reflecting means are provided to prevent heatloss upwardly and outwardly of the heat generating means.

[22] Filed: June 3, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 149,644

[52] US. Cl. ..99/386, 99/391, 99/401, 99/443 C, 219/388, 219/405,219/530 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47j 37/00 [58] Field of Search ..219/388, 405,411, 413, 462, 219/530, 464, 540; 99/346, 349, 386, 389, 391, 401, 427,443 C, 443 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,611,91310/1971 McGinley ..99/349 3,589,274 6/1971 Murray ..99/349 3,520,2497/1970 Miller, Jr ..99/443 C X 3,515,854 6/1970 Williams ..219/3883,098,921 7/1963 Jepson ..219/540 X 3,272,154 9/1966 Kranz ..219/388 X3,391,633 7/ 1968 Boosalis ..99/443 R 3,425,341 2/1969 McGinley ..99/423IlO PATENTEU 3.693452 sum 3 BF 4 58 I22 IZOD PATENTEDsms I972 SHEET '4BF 4 W IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'IIIIIIIA FIG. 7

78 80 FIGS BROILER AND GRILL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In theautomatic cooking and heating of food products on a broiler and grillhaving heat generating means and a conveyor for conveying the productspast and in contact with a grill plate, it is desirable to provide anapparatus which will cook the products uniformly in spite of varied loadconditions. At the same time, it is desirable to provide broiling andgrilling means in such a manner that food particles will not stick tothe grilling surface which may result not only in rendering the productunfit for serving, but also may prevent the movement of that productalong the grill plate thereby jamming the conveyor.

Normally there is a wide fluctuation in the demand placed on anapparatus of this type. For example, during busy periods the grill platemight be kept completely covered with products for a considerable amountof time. During slack periods, on the other hand, there may be only afew products conveyed on the grill plate at one time, or there may betimes when none at all are on the grill plate. Because the speed of theconveyor remains constant while the amount of heat absorbed by theproduct varies, a problem is encountered in supplying enough heat tocook the products uniformly and thoroughly while at the same timepreventing overheating of the grill plate. For example, because thecooking of the product is accomplished in a relatively short period oftime, a matter of a minute or minutes, a relatively great amount of heatmust be supplied to the product, especially if a large number ofproducts are conveyed on the grill plate at one time. This may beaccomplished by providing a heating means disposed above the grill plateto simultaneously heat the grill plate and broil the product. lf an idleperiod is suddenly encountered, however, very little or no heat isrequired to cook the product and the majority or all of the heatsupplied from above will be absorbed by the grill plate. This leads toseveral undesirable results. First, any grease or particles that may beon the grill plate will be carbonized because of .the excess heat, ormay even catch fire, thereby deteriorating the cooking surface andresulting in impairment of flavor of products subsequently cooked.Secondly, if any non-stick substance, such as teflon(polytetrafluoroethylene) is used as a surface on which to convey theproduct, such substance may be deteriorated by the excess heat. Third,the few products being conveyed along the grill plate may be overcooked.

It is necessary even during such slack or idle periods to maintain ahigh level of heat in the cooking area so that there would be sufficientheat to thoroughly cook the product should demand for a large numberthereof suddenly occur. Thus, it is necessary to keep theheatself-lubricating effect and the resultant prevention of sticking ofthe product.

It is also desirable in the use of a grill of this type to be able toload as many hamburgers or other products directly onto the conveyor atone time while keeping the unit as compact as possible. Heretofore thehamburgers would be loaded at one end of the grill plate and thus onlyone row could be loaded at one time. The operator of the apparatus wouldthen have to wait until that row of hamburgers was conveyed along thegrill plate a sufficient amount to enable the next row of products to beloaded.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above problems are overcome and otheradvantages introduced by the provision of a broiler and grill having amain heat generating means disposed above the grill plate which canprovide sufficient heat to thoroughly cook a large number of foodproducts at one time as they are conveyed along the grill plate. Heatreflecting means are provided to prevent heat loss upwardly andoutwardly of the heat generating means. A heat exchanging means belowthe grill plate and in direct contact therewith rapidly dissipatesexcess heat when there are few or no products on the grill plate. Athermostatically controlled auxiliary heater in contact with the heatexchanging means beneath the grill plate can rapidly supply additionalheat should a great number of products again be placed in the grillplate to ensure thorough cooking thereof.

A sheet of disposable material may be hung over the grill plate toprevent food products from directly contacting the plate.

The conveyor assembly is arranged to provide for the loading of a greatnumber of food products at one time.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of thebroiler and grill of my invention taken from the left front sidethereof.

FIG. 2 is an exploded front perspective view of the invention taken fromthe right side thereof.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the heat generating means.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the heat generating means.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the broiler and grill showing the heatexchanging means and auxiliary heating means taken along line 6-6 ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmented view of a portion of the conveyorchain.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The automatic broiler and grill 10has a housing 12 that comprises several panels held together by weldingor screws. Right and left panels 14 and 16 form the side walls ofhousing 12. A bottom panel 18 extends between the side panels 14 and 16.Left panel 16 also forms the left side wall of compartment 20 whichhouses an electric drive motor 22 and which has mounted thereon a switch24 which actuates the elec- 3 tric motor, and control knobs 26 and 28for thermostats which regulate heating elements hereinafter described.

' Pairs of pins 30 are mounted on the inside of right panel 14 andcompartment to engage slots 32 in removable front panel 34 when thepanel is in place on the unit. Like pins 36 engage slots 38 to hold theremovable rear panel 40 in place. The housing 12 is mounted on legs 42which are fastened thereto by conventional connections.

Right panel 14, compartment 20, and front, back and bottom panels 34, 40and 18 respectively surround a broiling and grilling area designatedgenerally by the numeral 44 within which are located a removableconveyor assembly 46 and a fixed platen assembly 48. Conveyor assembly46 has on either side thereof an inverted-U-shaped channel 50 secured toits upper end which nests over a corresponding pin 52 on either side ofthe broiling and grilling area 44. Pins 54 on either side of conveyorassembly 46 at its lower front end nest in corresponding Ushapedchannels 56. The pins 54 may be extensions of a shaft hereinafterdescribed. The entire assembly 46 can thus be readily removed from theunit by grasping the handle 58 and lifting the assembly upwardly andoutwardly therefrom.

An inclined platen assembly 48 extends between right panel 14 andcompartment 20 and is secured to each of these members in a conventionalmanner such as a connection of pins 60 combined with nuts and bolts orwelds. A slight space may separate the platen assembly 48 from thecompartment 20 and right panel 14 to allow for easy cleaning thereof.

As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the conveyor assembly 46 has a generallytriangular outline when viewed from the side. A suitable frame, on whichto mount the variousparts of the assembly 46 may comprise a pair ofrigid side plates 62 and conventional cross bracing therebetween. At theintersection of each pair of legs in the triangular outline of theconveyor assembly 46 a rotatable shaft is mounted. Drive shaft 64 islocated at the upper, rearward end of the assembly and has fixedlysecured thereto a pair of drive sprockets 66. The upper and lowerforward shafts 68 and 70 each has mounted thereon a pair of idlersprockets 72 and 74. A conveyor chain 76 passes around pairs ofsprockets 66, 72 and 74 so that one leg 76a of chain 76 extends slightlyabove and parallel to inclined platen assembly 48. Legs 76b and 760 ofchain 76 are preferably substantially horizontal and vertical so thatthe three legs 76a, 76b and 760 form a right triangle with legs 76a asthe hypotenuse. A metal reflective shield 77 of approximately the samewidth as the conveyor chain 76 extends just beneath conveyor chain 76just inside the top leg 76b and front leg 76c thereof.

The chain assembly 76 comprises a plurality of elongated chain-elements78 as best shown in FIG. 8. Each chain element 78 has a rod 80, each endof which is formed with an upward bend 82 leading to a hook portion 84that extends around the next rod 80 adjacent the hook portion 84 of thatnext rod. The result is a continuous conveyor chain 76 mounted with therods 80 meshed with the teeth of sprockets 66, 72 and 74.

The conveyor chain is somewhat slack for a purpose to be described,asbest shown in FIG. 3.

Drive gear 86 is fixedly mounted on the extension 88 of drive shaft 64.Shaft 90 on drive motor 22 has mounted thereon a suitable gear 92 tomesh with drive gear 86 and thereby drive same when the motor 22 isactuated with the end result that the conveyor chain 76 is driven in agenerally clockwise direction when viewed in FIG. 3.

A removable heater assembly or heat generating means 94 as shown removedfrom its normal position within conveyor assembly 46 in FIGS. 4 and 5comprises a stainless steel housing 96 and heating element 98 such as acalrod to which current is supplied by means of cord 100. To enable theassembly 94 to be easily removed from within the housing 12, the insidewall of compartment 20 is provided with a suitable electrical socket102. The heater assembly 94 is mounted within the conveyor assembly 46in a plane substantially parallel to that of the inclined platenassembly 48. Its leading edge is located at a point somewhat downstreamfrom the upper edge of the grill plate so that the upper portion of thegrill plate will not be exposed directly to radiating heat from the heatgenerating means 94.

A pair of guides 104 are removably mounted on brackets 106 which extendinwardly from compart ment 20 and right panel 14 and each of which isprovided with a threaded bore 108. A threaded bolt 110 is insertedthrough an aperture 112 in each of the guides 104 and mated with acorresponding bore 108 to secure the guide to the bracket 106. In itssecured position the bottom of each guide should be as close as possibleto leg 76b of chain 76 without interfering with .the travel thereof.While the above bolt and bracket method is herein described, any othersuitable means for securing the guides may be employed.

Platen assembly 48 comprises a grill plate 1 I4 which has a heatexchanging means 116 and an auxiliary heater 118 securely affixedtherebeneath. A removable inlet guide 120 at the upper end of the grillplate 114 has a lower curved portion 120a which merges at its upper endwith a hooked portion 12%. The guide 120 is hung in position ontransverse rod 122 so that the lower edge of curved portion 120a restson the grill plate 114 near the top thereof. A sheet 123 of disposablematerial may be hung over the guide 120 by trapping the upper end ofsheet 123 between the hooked portion 120b of guide 120 and rod 122. Suchmaterial may be plain metal foil, metal foil coated with a non-sticksubstance such as teflon, or it may be comprised of a non-sticksubstance alone.

Just beneath the lower end of the grill plate 1 14 there is suitablysecured a grease-catching trough 124 which extends for a width at leastequaling that of the width of the grill plate 1 14. The trough 124 isinclined slightly to allow grease collected therein to flow into a drainhole 126 in one-end thereof and throughtube 128 into a The heatexchanging means 116 is comprised of a;

base plate 136 which is fastened into direct contact with the undersideof grill plate 114 and a plurality of raised longitudinal fins 138formed integrally therewith. A series of lateral bars 139 havingthreaded bores therein are spaced apart from the base plate 136 and formbridges between several of adjacent fins. The heat exchanging means 116extends in a longitudinal direction only along the lower portion of thegrill plate 48 for reasons hereinafter described. The heat exchanger ispreferably an aluminum casting though other materials having good heatconductivity may be 'used.

The auxiliary heater 118 comprises a pair of bus bars 140 which crossand contact a plurality of heating elements 142 which are inserted intothe space between the base plate 136 and the lateral bars 139 of heatexchanging means 116. A plurality of set screws 144 clamp the heatingelements 142 firmly against the base plate 136 of heat exchanger 1 16.Current is supplied to the heater 118 by means of wires 146.

A temperature sensing means 148 is clamped against the bottom of thegrill plate 114 which cooperates with the thermostat for auxiliaryheater 118 to provide temperature control on the grill plate.

OPERATION The broiler and grill are operated merely by flicking switch24 to the on position. This energizes the motor to operate to drive gear92 and through gear 86 and drive sprockets 66 produce a clockwiserotation of the conveyor chain 76 as viewed in FIG. 3. At the same time,the electrical circuits by which control knobs 26 and 28 regulate thetemperature of the heat generating means 94 and auxiliary heater 118 areactivated. The control knob 26 for the upper heat generating means isset at a constant temperature sufficient to provide enough heat to cookthe product as desired.

Hamburgers 148 or other products are introduced into the broiler andgrill by placing them on the top leg 76b of the conveyor chain 76 whichis exposed at the top of the housing 12. Because a relatively largeexpanse of conveyor is exposed a correspondingly large amount ofhamburgers can be loaded at one time. Guides 104 on either side of theloading area prevent particles of product from falling off the side ofthe conveyor and also prevent the product from becoming hung-up ordamaged by the drive sprockets 66.

When the hamburgers reach the rear of the loading area they are guidedaround onto the grill plate 114 by the curved portion 120a of inletguide 120. As shown in FIG. 3, the conveyor chain 76 is somewhat slackto allow its weight to press the hamburgers firmly against the grillplate 114 while they are being cooked by heat from heat generating means94. Heat shield 77 directs the heat toward the grill plate and therebyprevents heat loss upwardly and outwardly of the cooking area 44. At thesame time, the horizontal portion of shield 77 prevents particles ofproduct from falling down onto the heat element 96. As the meat cooks itwill give off a certain amount of grease and juice which runs down theinclined cooking surface and into the grease catching trough 124 and outthrough drain hole 126 and tube 128 into a suitable receptacle. Thehamburgers themselves proceed on down the grill plate 114 into theoutlet chute 132 where they may be removed manually or allowed to fallinto the collecting pan 134 or other receptacle.

As above mentioned, in prior broilers and grills, as long as thehamburgers are loaded at a fairly constant rate, a given setting oncontrol knob 26 for the heat generating means 94 will provide a properamount of heat to produce uniformly cooked products. However, if theconditions vary as described above in the Background of the Invention,the problems described therein would be encountered. In accordance withthe invention, however, the heat exchanging means 138 dissipates heatwhen the grill plate becomes too hot and thereby overcomes the problemsof overheating therein described. More particularly, when the heatgenerating means is set at a level of temperature to provide enough heatto cook a heavy load of products and then a slack period suddenlyoccurs, the heat exchanging means 1 16 serves to draw excess heat awayfrom the grill plate 1 14, thereby preventing overheating thereof. ifanother heavy load of products should then suddenly be loaded onto theconveyor, and the temperature on the grill plate 114 should fall below apredetermined level, the thermostatic control of the auxiliary heater118 causes that heater to supply additional heat to bring thetemperature on the grill plate 114 up to the desired level. Whenauxiliary heater 118 is on, the heat exchanging means serves tofacilitate the supply of heat from the heater 118 to the grill plate114. Thus, while the product is being conveyed across the grill plate114 in a constant, relatively short period of time, the heat exchanger116 provides both a quick means for withdrawal of heat when there is anexcess supply thereof and serves as a conduit to supply heat to thegrill plate 114 from the auxiliary heater 118 when there is aninadequate supply thereof.

As explained above, it is important that the leading edge of heaterassembly 94 is located at a point somewhat downstream from the upperedge of the grill plate 114 so that the upper portion of the grill plate114 will not be exposed directly to the radiating heat from the heatgenerating means 94. Locating the heater in this manner provides for agradually increasing temperature gradient in the direction of travel ofthe product along the grill plate and prevents sticking of the productto the cooking surface when it first comes in contact therewith. It isdesirable to maintain a temperature not greater than approximately 310 Fat the upper end of the grill plate and approximately 350 F to 360 F inthe cooking area directly beneath the heating means 94. It is alsoimportant that the heat exchanging means 116 not extend all the way tothe top of the grill plate 114. While the longitudinal placement ofheating means 94 and heat exchanger 116 may vary, preferably neitherdevice should extend along approximately the upper one-quarter of thelength of the grill plate for best results.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the formhereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

We claim:

1. A broiler and grill for cooking and heating food products comprisinga housing, a grill plate supported within said housing, electric meansfor generating cooking heat disposed above said grill plate, at leastone heat reflective shield supported above said heat generating means todirect said cooking heat onto said grill plate, heat exchanging meansdisposed below said grill plate to dissipate said heat and therebyprevent over-heating of said grill plate, and an electric auxiliaryheater disposed beneath said grill plate, said heater beingthermostatically controlled to ensure the provision of a sufficientamount of cooking heat to thoroughly cook said food products.

2. The broiler and grill of claim 1 wherein said heat exchanging meansis an aluminum casting.

3. The broiler and grill of claim 1 wherein said grill plate and saidconveyorassembly are supported in inclined planes and said conveyorassembly is somewhat slack to press food products against said grillplate.

4. The broiler and grill of claim 1 wherein said grill plate is coatedwith a non-sticking substance.

5. The broiler and grill plate of claim 1 including a sheet ofdisposable substance loosely disposed over said grill plate between saidgrill plate and said heat generating means.

6. The broiler and grill of claim 5 wherein said disposable substance ispolytetrafluoroethylene.

7. The broiler and grill of claim 5 wherein said disposable substance ismetal foil.

8. A broiler and grill for cooking and heating food products comprisinga housing open at the top end thereof, a grill plate supported withinsaid housing, electric means for generating cooking heat disposed abovethe grill plate, said grill plate being supported in an inclined plane,a conveyor assembly having a first portion thereof inclined in a planesubstantially parallel to said grill plate for conveying food productsalong said grill plate, a second portion thereof located at the top openend of said housing and in a substantially horizontal plane from theupper end of said inclined first portion of said conveyor assembly and athird portion thereof extending between said first and second portionsin a substantially vertical plane at the front of said housing, a heatreflective shield disposed in planes substantially parallel to saidsecond and third portions of said conveyor assembly between said secondand third portions and said heat generating means to prevent loss ofsaid cooking heat upwardly and outwardly of said heat generating meansand to prevent particles of said food product from dropping onto saidheat generating means.

9. A broiler and grill for cooking and heating food products comprisinga housing open at the top end thereof, a grill plate supported withinsaid housing, electric means for generating cooking heat disposed abovethe grill plate, said grill plate being supported in an inclined plane,a conveyor assembly having a first portion thereof inclined in a planesubstantially parallel to said grill plate for conveying food productsalong said grill plate, a second portion thereof located at the top openend of said housing and in a substantially horizontal plane from theupper end of said inclined first portion of said conveyor assembly and athird portion thereof extending between said first and second portionsin a substantially vertical plane at the front of said housing, a heatreflective shield disposed in planes ii s i llvfi sin ll? iiiffi n s i lfffl third portions and said heat generating means to prevent loss ofsaid cooking heat upwardly and outwardly of said heat generating meansand to prevent particles of said food product from dropping onto saidheat generating means, means disposed below said grill plate todissipate said heat and thereby prevent overheating of said grill plate,and an electric auxiliary heater disposed beneath said grill plate, saidheater being thermostatically controlled to ensure the provision of asufficient amount of cooking heat to thoroughly cook said food products.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3, 93,5 Dated September 26, 1972 Inventor(s) William L. McGinley and JohnniePrine Pearson It is certified that error appears in the above-identifiedpatent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

-Assigneez American Home Products Corporation New York, N. Y.

Signed and sealed this 13th day of March 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLI:TCIIER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents :ORM PC4050 USCOMM-DC scam-ps9 k U S. GOVERNMENT PRINTINGOFFICE: 1989 0*366334.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 93, 5Dated September 26, 1972 Inventor(s) William L. McGinley and JohnniePrine Pearson It is certified that error appears in the above-identifiedpatent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

--Assignee: American Home Products Corporation New York, N. Y.

Signed and sealed this 13th day of March 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLIT.TCIIER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting OfficerCommissioner of Patents FORM P0-1050 (10-69) uscoMM-Dc 50376-P59 U.S,GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: I969 O-366334.

1. A broiler and grill for cooking and heating food products comprisinga housing, a grill plate supported within said housing, electric meansfor generating cooking heat disposed above said grill plate, at leastone heat reflective shield supported above said heat generating means todirect said cooking heat onto said grill plate, heat exchanging meansdisposed below said grill plate to dissipate said heat and therebyprevent overheating of said grill plate, and an electric auxiliaryheater disposed beneath said grill plate, said heater beingthermostatically controlled to ensure the provision of a sufficientamount of cooking heat to thoroughly cook said food products.
 2. Thebroiler and grill of claim 1 wherein said heat exchanging means is analuminum casting.
 3. The broiler and grill of claim 1 wherein said grillplate and said conveyor assembly are supported in inclined planes andsaid conveyor assembly is somewhat slack to press food products againstsaid grill plate.
 4. The broiler and grill of claim 1 wherein said grillplate is coated with a non-sticking substance.
 5. The broiler and grillplate of claim 1 including a sheet of disposable substance looselydisposed over said grill plate between said grill plate and said heatgenerating means.
 6. The broiler and grill of claim 5 wherein saiddisposable substance is polytetrafluoroethylene.
 7. The broiler andgrill of claim 5 wherein said disposable substance is metal foil.
 8. Abroiler and grill for cooking and heating food products comprising ahousing open at the top end thereof, a grill plate supported within saidhousing, electric means for generating cooking heat disposed above thegrill plate, said grill plate being supported in an inclined plane, aconveyor assembly having a first portion thereof inclined in a planesubstantially parallel to said grill plate for conveying food productsalong said grill plate, a second portion thereof located at the top openend of said housing and in a substantially horizontal plane from theupper end of said inclined first portion of said conveyor assembly and athird portion thereof extending between said first and second portionsin a substantially vertical plane at the front of said housing, a heatreflective shield disposed in planes substantially parallel to saidsecond and third portions of said conveyor assembly between said secondand third portions and said heat generating means to prevent loss ofsaid cooking heat upwardly and outwardly of said heat generating meansand to prevent particles of said food product from dropping onto saidheat generating means.
 9. A broileR and grill for cooking and heatingfood products comprising a housing open at the top end thereof, a grillplate supported within said housing, electric means for generatingcooking heat disposed above the grill plate, said grill plate beingsupported in an inclined plane, a conveyor assembly having a firstportion thereof inclined in a plane substantially parallel to said grillplate for conveying food products along said grill plate, a secondportion thereof located at the top open end of said housing and in asubstantially horizontal plane from the upper end of said inclined firstportion of said conveyor assembly and a third portion thereof extendingbetween said first and second portions in a substantially vertical planeat the front of said housing, a heat reflective shield disposed inplanes substantially parallel to said second and third portions of saidconveyor assembly between said second and third portions and said heatgenerating means to prevent loss of said cooking heat upwardly andoutwardly of said heat generating means and to prevent particles of saidfood product from dropping onto said heat generating means, meansdisposed below said grill plate to dissipate said heat and therebyprevent overheating of said grill plate, and an electric auxiliaryheater disposed beneath said grill plate, said heater beingthermostatically controlled to ensure the provision of a sufficientamount of cooking heat to thoroughly cook said food products.